To the office-goers who think the #FarmersProtest is misguided and that the laws are actually good for them. Imagine this: Imagine that the government, without asking you or anyone, passed laws that made it possible for your employer to pay you as little as ten rupees a month.

#FarmersAgitation #FarmerPolitics #FarmersProtestHijacked Learn the truth.
Arhtiyas (commission agents) who have been the main link between farmers and procurement agencies in the two states of Punjab and Haryana, launched their campaign against the Centre’s agri-marketing

ordinances early as the three bills cleared by Parliament will adversely affect their business. There are over 30,000 registered Arhtiyas in Punjab and Haryana who are deeply entrenched in the system. They exercise a strong influence on agricultural activities and the politics of

both states. These 30,000 employ another 300,000 sub agents or sidekicks or people who would not have made it into doing anything anyplace were it not for the patronage network of these 30,000. But there are only 1500 farming villages in Punjab. 330,000 / 1500 is about 220 people

on average per village doing the work of middlemen.
Why is this the case?
We had a food shortage and a ship to mouth existence until the 1970’s. Norman Borlaug pioneered a variety of wheat which gave 10 X the yield but needed 3X the fertiliser. The Punjab was chosen as the

battleground against hunger. Enterprising Sikh farmers worked hard to Create what we know as the green revolution. Since there were huge shortages laws were made which didn’t allow for stockholding or selling at farm gates. Essential Commodities Act - APMC Act (farmers were

The farmer is not our saintly anadata!

Yes they deserve respect for what they do but it's fact that he doesn't do anyone else a favour by growing foodgrains. Remember farming is his occupation that earns him a livelihood that provides for his family. Just like the rest of us.
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No one is forcing a #farmer to carry on farming if he can't make it pay for itself.

We have witnessed farmers migration for better life in states like Bihar, Jharkhand and UP.

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We know that farmers are given free power, free water, subsidies on seed, subsidies on fertiliser, MSP, and others. Farmers are not even charged income tax.

Even after all this benefits if "Large Farmers" can't be profitable there is something wrong in their intention!

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It is true that farming is subsidised around the world. But not to the extent that is being demanded in India. Both in absolute terms and in relative terms our farm subsidies are very high.

It is still ok but the benefits should be given to small and marginal farmers

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We need to allow consolidation of farm holdings and our subsidies need to be rationalised.

More than our farmers it is the landless labour of rural and urban India that deserves our sympathy and government support.

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'Farmers Protests'.
the bitter truth, probably -
(COPIED from a friend's wall)
I am still not clear about the issues involved in the Farmer's agitation. So, I asked a friend of mine, who besides engineering is a farmer from Abohar - Fazilka region of Punjab.

Now, after retirement, he is a full-time farmer.
This is what he told me.
"I have been actively farming for almost two decades now and I have witnessed many things happen at APMC’s.
I have seen classifications of C grade grain miraculously change into B grade grain.

Similarly, I've also witnessed the weighbridge weigh in the empty truck at 39 tons & the full truck at 55 tons and later found that the unloaded truck weighed 43 tons at another weighbridge.
Yes I know, you know what I know. Yet let me tell you more abt what you may already know.

There are over 30,000 registered adtiyas in Punjab.
These 30,000 employ another 300,000 sub-agents or sidekicks or people who wouldn’t have made it into doing anything anyplace were it not for the patronage network of these 30,000. There are only 1500 farming villages in Punjab.

330,000 / 1500 is about 220 people on average per village doing the work of middlemen.
Why is this the case?
It’s a long story but someone needs to begin talking about this at some time.
We had a food shortage and a ship to mouth existence until the 1970s.

Long Thread on Farmers protests & Agri reforms: What is the protest all about? Who gets impacted & how? Why are protests concentrated in Punjab & Haryana? Are these really farmers or traders losing grip on monopoly? Are farmers being misled? Let numbers do the talking. Here we go

A top-down view of Indian production is in order here. What does India’s agriculture produce in a year? I like the below chart for FY 2015. Now to understand the complexity, we’ll have to work with one crop & dig details. Let’s work with Wheat.

In 2020, India is looking at 105 million tons of Wheat produce vs 94 mn tons in 2015. What does the growth look like? See below the YoY growth of wheat in India. A 105 mn tons in 2020 will bust the chart below. Forget nay-sayers,Indian agriculture is doing great production.

Something is working well when production goes up consistently. However,while supply is great, demand is not growing as much. Look at the wheat consumption in India. As you see, the demand is consistently below supply by ~ 10 mn tons. Who needs this extra 10% wheat? Not Indians.

Can we export? Unlikely! This is where it gets complicated. Let’s see the United States Dept of Agriculture report on agriculture.The European Union, China, and India accounted for a little over 50 percent of the world’s wheat production (762 mn tons) in 2018/19.